Love in Any Season
by Hannibal3125
Summary: D/S. Cartoon-based. Scarlett thinks back over the first year of her relationship with Duke.
1. Intro, Spring

Love in Any Season

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Wish I did, though…

A/N: You can think of this as a late Christmas fic, an early Christmas fic, or a right-on-time anytime fic. Please review – please note that gripes about the pairing will be disregarded and removed. Anything else is welcome. By the way, this is based in the cartoon.

Looking back, she supposed it began in spring.

Scarlett thought back over the past year with a smile. A year spent dating Conrad Hauser would make any girl smile.

She could easily call the beginning of her relationship with Duke to mind…

***************************

Lady Jaye came into the room at speeds usually associated with the Sky Strikers. It took Shana a moment to realize that what she'd imagined was a sonic boom was actually Allie talking fast enough to cause one.

"Whoa, slow down. Try syllables and sentences. I'm not so good with just picking out key words for my conversation."

Allie stopped for a moment, then restated, "Dash just got me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers! Roses and daisies and I don't know what else!"

Shana smiled. She'd known that Flint would probably do something like that. He was a romantic to the core. Now, if only some of that would rub off on a certain top sergeant…Ah, well, wishful thinking was all that was. Besides, she knew the rumor mill well enough to know that if anyone had seen him at a flower shop, it'd be all over the base by now. Well, a girl could dream…

Later that day, she literally ran into Conrad walking around a corner. As they got up, she noticed that he was holding satellite photos.

"Hey, can I see those?"

"Sure, I guess so. They aren't really significant to any of our missions."

She had to agree. There were three photos, and each showed terrain that she could see from her office window with a good pair of binoculars. In fact, she now realized that one of them was basically the view from her office window from a satellite perspective.

She handed them back and asked him, "Why are you looking at those?"

He was silent for a moment, then replied, "Just looking for places that are perfect for surprise attacks."

And with that, he walked off, leaving her to ponder the mysterious grin he'd had when he'd said that.

YO JOE!

She met up with him again at the entrance to the mess hall for an early dinner. She hadn't planned to have dinner with him, but she knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, he might say something flirty like last time, and she'd be able to pry his guards away long enough to find out how he thought of her.

They began chatting as they joined the line that had already begun to form. A couple of minutes passed, and suddenly Duke pointed over her shoulder. There was Wayne giving flowers to Courtney! Of all people!

She looked back over at him with a playful smile. "Okay, so where are mine?"

"Your what?" Duke asked innocently, though his face showed clearly that he knew exactly what she was referring to.

"My flowers, silly. Where are my flowers?"

Duke was momentarily saved from a reply by Ace's sudden spewing of his coffee. He'd caught only the last comment as he was taking his food to his seat. The hope on his face turned to disappointment as Alpine piped up from behind them. "Relax, Brad; false alarm. They're just bantering."

The exchange carried them to the point at which they collected their trays. Shana reached for a tray, but Conrad stopped her and simply nudged her forward. Confused, she decided to go along with it for now.

When they reached Roadblock behind the counter, he smiled and told Duke, "Here's the picnic supper you asked for."

Shana looked at him as he took the cooler full of food. He looked back at her, smiled again, and said, "Come on, and I'll answer your question."

Wordlessly, she followed him out to a waiting jeep, which he drove a short distance from the base…just within sight. He got out, grabbed the cooler and a duffel, and walked over the crest of the rolling hill she only now realized they were parked on. Curiosity got the better of her, and she took off after him.

He was setting out a blanket from the duffel when she got to him. He asked, "You were wondering where your flowers are? Well, ask and you shall receive." And he gestured out across the landscape before them. Shana looked out and saw fresh spring flowers covering the whole area. She walked over to the blanket, on which Conrad had already set out their dinner. He looked up and gestured to the spot next to him. As she sat down, she glanced back and realized that the base was out of sight. _Out of sight, out of mind_. she thought. She turned to view the flowers again and noticed that the sun was just now beginning to set.

The scene was truly beautiful.

She saw the food Conrad had selected for their outing and actually giggled in delight upon spotting some of her favorite picnic foods. Duke offered her a cold cut sandwich, made a second for himself, and began eating.

Shana took in what was happening. Duke was having a quiet, peaceful, _romantic_ picnic dinner with her in a flowery field. She discreetly pinched herself to ensure that anything that developed wouldn't be interrupted by an alarm clock. "Ow!"

Conrad looked over. "What happened?"

Shana covered herself with a little white lie. "Oh, just a little discomfort. I can't seem to get comfortable like this."

Duke chuckled, "Well, unless you know a way to iron the ground without paving it, I'm afraid I can't help. Wish I could."

Shana had a sudden burst of inspiration. "Actually, sit still for a moment. I think you can." She proceeded to lean herself against him, laying her head back against his chest.

"Comfortable now?"

She smiled at his remark and replied, "Yup; I told you you could help."

They continued that way, conversing and joking, until the last of the food joined the last ray of sunshine in disappearing.

As they walked back into the base, Scarlett turned to Duke. "I had a great time, Conrad. We'll have to do it again sometime. Oh, and thanks for the flowers." And with a smile on her face, she headed down her corridor, stopping only when she reached her door to enter and wink back at Duke.

She went to sleep that night extremely happy, and dreamed of flowers, picnics, and spring love.

**********************************

Shana was nudged by Allie, who'd evidently asked her a question and run out of patience waiting for the answer. Realizing that she'd been busted in her reverie, she felt her cheeks warm, which, in turn, reminded her of another milestone in their relationship…


	2. Summer

Shana had just sat down for another glorious summer day stuck in her office when she found the box on her desk. It was wrapped in a simple paper with no tag or note from the giver. She wondered who'd put it there and why. Her birthday had been last month, and there were no holidays requiring an exchange of gifts for some time. So why was this on her desk?!

She opened it to find a burgundy case holding a pearl bracelet. She smiled as she looked it over, then put it on. She usually wasn't much for jewelry on the job - or anywhere else, for that matter – but she had to admit that the weight of the bracelet on her wrist made her oddly content. She remembered telling someone recently that she loved pearls, and that she'd had a pearl bracelet as a teenager, a gift from her parents. She wished she could remember who she'd told.

A couple of hours passed as she read and filed reports and prepared briefing notes. However, one corner of her mind stubbornly refused to let go of the mystery of her new bracelet. Ironically, it was the same corner that usually occupied its time with thinking about her weekly dinner with Duke.

A couple of months ago, Duke and she had begun having dinner once a week, as missions and assignments allowed, and talk about anything but the job. They would joke about their fellow Joes or about Cobra, but no serious work-related talk occurred. Instead, they talked about their families, previous assignments, former significant others, Joe gossip, etc.

Tonight was the night for this week. And so, Shana was rather distracted already; this mystery gift just made it worse.

Her stomach growled, informing her that the clock was about to strike 1215hrs. She left her office and headed to the mess hall. She passed Duke's office, noticing him hard at work. She knew he'd be there for another fifteen minutes. His lunchtime was as close to clockwork as hers was.

As she entered the mess, Allie appeared beside her. They chatted for a few minutes in line, got their food, and headed to their seats. As Scarlett sat, Allie spotted her bracelet. "Hey, is that the bracelet Conrad got you?"

"What? I got this as a mystery gift on my desk this morning. No name, no nothing."

"Yeah, Dash said he and Conrad went out, and Conrad bought a pearl bracelet. He said he was going to give it to you, I thought."

"He also said not to tell Shana yet." Flint commented as he sat down.

Allie blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, yeah. You did say that, didn't you?"

Things clicked in Shana's mind. It had been Conrad she'd told about the pearls. She'd told him during last week's dinner. She put her fork down and left, with Allie and Dash staring after her.

She knocked on Conrad's office door. "Enter."

She stepped in and held her wrist up for his inspection. "Thank you for the bracelet, Conrad. Now, not that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth, but…why?"

Conrad simply smiled. "How did you find out already?"

She related the conversation in the mess hall as she sat down.

Conrad couldn't help but chuckle at the story. Then he looked at her with a playfully warm grin and asked, "Do I really have to have a reason to get you something?"

She laughed at that comment. "Well, I could insist on one…"

"Fine. I'll tell you my reason…at dinner." he responded, still wearing that playful grin.

Shana could hardly wait.

Four and a half hours came and went for everyone but Shana O'Hara. While time might fly when you were having fun, she could attest from personal experience that it crawled when you were waiting for something.

Finally, the appointed hour arrived, as did Duke at the door of her quarters. He was dressed in a green polo shirt and tan slacks. She once again silently reprimanded herself for bad thoughts as she looked at him. He obviously was marshalling his thoughts back to something approaching gentlemanly as well; she was glad she'd picked the white polo and teal skirt.

It had been her idea to dress in this manner – nice, but not their uniforms. Originally, it had been due to a dare by Courtney Krieger to get Duke out of his uniform. Scarlett, who hadn't wanted to move things too fast or scare Duke off, had come up with this as an original solution. Even Courtney had relented that it did meet the letter of the dare, if not necessarily the spirit.

However, the main reason was far simpler. By leaving their uniforms out of the picture, they were symbolically leaving work out with them. They felt less compelled to be Scarlett and Duke, and freer to be Shana and Conrad. They could almost imagine that they were on a real date, if not for the Joes milling around them in the mess hall.

They ate and bantered in their "private" corner of the mess, until Shana's curiosity got the better of her.

"Conrad?"

"Yes?"

"What was your reason?"

Conrad paused for a second, glanced over her shoulder toward the counter, and looked again more intently.

She turned to see Roadblock gesturing to them. Conrad stood. "I'll check. Back in a minute."

She watched him reach the counter and step to one side, near where the kitchen disappeared from view behind the wall. Roadblock moved something, and Duke started looking it over. She was trying to puzzle out what he was looking at when she noticed Roadblock was gesturing to her now.

Shana stood and walked to the counter, trying not to attract attention in case "it" was dangerous – after all, starting a panic would only make the situation worse.

She approached Duke; suddenly, he turned toward her, holding a single red rose in a small decorative vase.

Shana found herself breathless. Could he really mean…but then she recalled that this was Conrad Hauser – he most likely had no idea about the language of flowers.

She took the flower, and Conrad nodded toward their seats. They sat down, and Shana marveled at both the gift and the giver. She was about to give in to her curiosity again and ask if he knew the meaning of a single red rose, when he beat her to it. "Yes, I mean it. By the way, that's your reason."

It took her a moment to process what he'd just said. Then it hit her. _He actually is saying…oh, but I want to hear him _say _it._ So she pretended to be confused at his statement.

"What's my reason? You mean, for the pearls?"

"Yes."

"Okay, and the reason is…?" Her smile betrayed her. Conrad smiled back wryly, knowing she knew and knowing that she wanted him to actually say the words.

It was strange, Shana thought. Duke was the battlefield leader of G.. He'd charge a group of H.I.S.S. tanks and ten squads of Vipers without a second thought. But he was obviously hesitant here, telling her something. Of course, neither of them threw these words around lightly.

He took a deep breath, looked at her in the eyes, and declared, "I love you, Shana."

Now Shana was struck completely breathless. Conrad had said it. He'd actually told her he loved her. She finally inhaled again, smiled, and replied in kind. "I love you, too, Conrad."

She really didn't remember much else about the evening, other than being disappointed in his "dropping her off" at her quarters without taking her up on her invitation for a goodnight kiss.

"This is going to be one interesting midsummer night's dream." she quipped to herself as she went back into her room.

***************************************

Allie had evidently given up on trying to talk to her, she realized as she snapped out of her reverie to find her gone. She looked around the room, finally seeing her talking with Dash and Brad. Conrad was walking toward the drink table, passing Wayne and Courtney. Court's (currently) red hair brought a third memory to mind…


	3. Autumn

Reds and oranges flew below the helicopter as a tired Scarlett looked out over the woods covering part of the base training grounds at the sun just beginning to rise. She and the team with her were just returning from a mission; they'd stopped Cobra and retrieved stolen weapons, but the Cobra leaders had escaped. All in all, par for the course.

As they neared the landing zone, she saw another helicopter already there, with another team just now disembarking. That would be Duke's group, back from a similar mission, with apparently similar results.

Her chopper began its landing descent, and she noted the single figure that stopped to watch the landing, approaching only when they'd touched down. Duke reached up to help her out. She took the offered hand with a smile. "My hero. Now, let me get a shower and a nap, and you'll be a real hero."

He laughed. "Done. I'll even throw in breakfast. We're on stand-down. Call me when you get up." He smiled as they split to go to their respective quarters.

She nodded, too tired to speak.

Much later, she finished dressing and picked up her phone. Conrad answered on the sixth ring, "Sorry; you caught me just getting out of the shower."

"So, is it even possible for you to get up before I do?" Shana asked playfully.

"Probably not." he answered.

"Well, I'll wait for you at the mess. Hurry up, honey." she added with a chuckle.

In a way, this was little different from most mornings. They'd begun eating together whenever possible after that summer confession of love. Shana would usually arrive a few minutes before Conrad and wait for his arrival, before they entered together.

To her surprise, Conrad was walking up just a minute after she arrived. They entered and joined the other Joes in getting a late breakfast. After getting food and seats, they ate and talked comfortably. They finished the eggs, toast, and bacon, and were sipping the last of their coffee when Conrad spoke up. "Hey, would you like to go for a walk?"

Shana thought it sounded like a great way to laze the day away. "I'd love to, but the sounds of other Joes training isn't too conducive to relaxing."

"Actually, Hawk's got everyone either on stand-down or standby. The standby guys aren't training to prevent getting hurt when they're needed, and Hawk's letting everyone else rest since they just got back from missions. So the running trails should be pretty clear of people."

That sounded perfect.

"Okay; but we need to stop at my quarters for my jacket. So, if you don't mind waiting…"

"Sure; you'll have to wait a moment at mine anyway while I get mine."

They finished their coffee, cleaned up, and left.

YO JOE!

Shana sighed again. This was pretty close to perfect. She could think of a few ways it could be better, but she didn't want to push Conrad too fast.

The breeze blew, and she was glad for her clothing selection. Jeans, sneakers, and a red-and-white-checked shirt were complemented by a dark blue jacket cut in a "military" style. She noted that her appearance matched well with Conrad's – he was also wearing jeans, but he'd picked a red polo, old farm boots, and a brown leather bomber jacket.

Interestingly, the browns, reds, oranges, and yellows around them seemed to match as well. She idly thought that if someone were to suddenly snap a picture of them in this setting, it would look like one of those perfect ideal pictures that everyone thought of when they imagined doing something like this.

As they walked and talked, they began to pass piles of leaves that the Grounds and Maintenance crews had left beside the path. An idea formed rapidly in Shana's mind.

Just as they came next to a pile, she pretended to trip and "accidentally" shoved Conrad into it. He looked up at her in amused disbelief, then got back up, walked up to her, and picked her up. She was laughing too hard to put up more than a token resistance as he carried her to the pile and dropped her in.

She quickly shot her legs out to trip him and got up and ran further down the path while he tried to get up again. Conrad continued to chase her for several minutes, each somehow knocking the other into various pile of leaves as they went.

Finally, he caught her again, throwing his arms around her to trap her from behind. She playfully struggled to get loose when he kissed her cheek. She stopped struggling, stunned. He'd actually kissed her! _Well, my cheek, but it's a start._ She realized how nice it was to be here like this in Conrad's arms and snuggled in a little closer, quite content with the world at the moment. "I love you, Conrad."

"I love you, too, Shana."

She turned in his arms so she could face him. Both were struck by how close they were to each other right now. The urge to kiss him became overwhelming. Apparently the same was true for him, because they met in the middle.

It was exhilarating. Nothing, not even her first kiss ever, had felt this good to Shana. There was a wonderful freshness to it, but at the same time, it was strangely familiar, as though they'd been doing this forever.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and the kiss was no exception, as their lungs began to remind them that air was a biological necessity. They looked at each other, their wonder, excitement, and love clearly reflected in the other's eyes. Neither one could believe that this was real; however, neither wanted the dream to end; and so, they remained as they were for a while. Finally, Conrad moved in for another kiss. Shana gladly obliged. There was no longer any question of whether or not this was reality. There was no way a dream could feel this good.

When they broke for air again, they started back toward the base. This time, the piles of leaves remained undisturbed.

*******************************

The memory of their first kiss warmed Shana as much as the mug of hot chocolate in her hand. She looked out the window at the snow, which reminded her of earlier just today…


	4. Winter

The entire world was white and crystalline. Snow covered everything, including the planes, helicopters, and any ground vehicles not in the motor pool. Christmas was only a couple of days away, and Cobra had just two weeks ago been thrashed rather soundly, so they were laying low. Overall, the day seemed crafted for winter leisure.

Shana glanced toward the woods of the training grounds where she and Conrad had shared their first kiss. Almost instantly, she could swear she heard the tune to "Winter Wonderland". She knew if she told anyone that she was hearing it audibly, they'd have her committed, but for now, she simply enjoyed it.

Suddenly, Conrad appeared next to her, whistling until she looked at him in amused disbelief. Then he couldn't keep from cracking up. She'd told him before that one of her favorite Christmas tunes was that song; and here he was, whistling it! She hadn't been hearing things, after all. They both burst out laughing at the situation.

Conrad quickly kissed her before saying, "The motor pool decided to build a sledding hill. Care to join me?"

"When did they do that?!" Shana smiled at the idea of sledding; it thrilled her. Growing up in Georgia didn't exactly present one with many sledding opportunities, after all.

"About half an hour ago."

"And you're just now asking me?!" she crabbed in jest.

"Well, yeah; it took me this long to find you. When you were ten minutes late for lunchtime, I knew something was up. So I went looking for you. Found you, too." he stated proudly with a wide grin on his face.

"Yes, you did. I'm so proud. Take me sledding before I hit you." She returned the smile.

They went to the ramp made of snow. Courtney had piled it with a bulldozer, as if she were constructing an earthen ramp, then Clutch and Cross-Country had taken turns driven various tanks over it to pack the snow down. To complete it, they simply threw a ladder to the top against the sides. At this point, sleds were flying down at speeds one usually associated with a need for safety equipment. Naturally, none was anywhere to be seen; though, to the planners' credit, a jeep sat near the bottom of the hill, ready to rush any lunatic unfortunate enough to hurt himself to the infirmary.

The couple climbed the ladder and grabbed a couple of flat sleds, the kind one could roll up when the snow was gone. Then, just before "launch", Conrad reached toward Shana. She looked at his hand in confusion at first, then smiled and took his hand. Then, joined hand-in-hand, they slid down the hill.

As they zoomed down the hill, Shana felt as though she were in her Sky Striker with no canopy…or nose…or wings, or gear - just the engines. She felt Conrad's grip tighten on her wrist. So, the speed was getting to him, too. That was reassuring.

Their initial perceptions to the contrary, they reached the bottom safely and agreed to turn their sleds over to other, more insane Joes. Now it was Shana's turn to suggest an activity. "Let's go back to the training grounds and make a snowman!"

Conrad thought for a second, during which time he got a mischievous smirk on his face, then nodded his agreement. They walked back and began to roll the bottom part of the snowman. Conrad stopped helping her after a minute and began to work on another.

"Hey, Mr. Muscles, shouldn't we finish this part before beginning on the upper stages?"

He put the small sphere down and began again.

"And that's way too small to use for a decent-sized snowman."

"You're right." He put it down next to the first and made a third one.

Shana, who still hadn't caught on, posted one hand on her hip as she asked, "Well, are you going to answer me? You know, the "finish bottom' question?"

"Again, you're right." He was now making a fifth.

"Then what on earth are you- oh, no, don't you dare, Conr-!"

Her plea had been cut off by a snowball hitting her squarely under the arm. The padding of her winter coat meant it didn't hurt a bit, but it was the principle of the thing.

"Or what, Shana?" One would think that he'd know better than to taunt her after his actions, but Conrad evidently thought she wouldn't retaliate.

Yeah, right.

She immediately scooped up a bunch of snow, packed it tightly, and lobbed it at him, hitting him perfectly over his heart. His stunned look was answered with a smug smirk of her own.

"Oh, it's on." he said as he began picking up the small arsenal he'd made. Shana immediately took up the arms race and rapidly packed several snowballs. "So, Conrad, is this the new Cold War?"

Silence answered her, until she glanced up and saw the mock-dirty look he was giving her. "I thought it was funny."

"Of course you did – it was your joke."

The snowball fight continued for another fifteen minutes, after which they actually finished the snowman. Shana couldn't help but sing the part of "Winter Wonderland" about the snowman, winking at Conrad as she sang the last line of the segment.

At this point, the cold and damp were starting to penetrate her winter coat and gloves. She suggested they go back inside.

"Sure; it's only an hour or two until the Christmas party anyway. We can dry off and change; meet again there after that?"

She snickered. "It's a date."

**********************************************

An hour and a half later, the Christmas party began, catching Scarlett up to the present. Aside from some idle chitchat, the only noteworthy occurrence had been her reminiscence.

Her life was as happy now as it had ever been, and Conrad was part of that. She looked around the mess hall for him, but he had apparently turned invisible, because he was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed. As her sensed flared into a heighted state of alertness, she heard the background music – "Winter Wonderland". Then a voice came over the PA system.

Conrad appeared in a brighter circle of light, holding a microphone and something else she couldn't clearly see. Whatever, it was, it was small; he held it wrapped in his hand.

He was approaching her. She realized he was speaking.

"I've heard that love has no special season, and I've found that to be true. As most of you know, over the past year, I've gotten to know Shana O'Hara. And I realized while thinking about our relationship that over this past year, each major milestone has progressed through the seasons. Our first date was in spring; we first told each other 'I love you' in summer; Our first kiss in autumn. There's one major milestone in each of those seasons, and I'd like to make this the milestone for this season."

He now stood in front of her. He kneeled and revealed the object in his other hand – a ring box. With his thumb, he pooped the box open gently, uncovering the gold ring adorned with a single luminous diamond.

"Shana O'Hara, I love you. I really do not know what I would do if you weren't in my life. I'd like you to be there permanently. Will you marry me?"

Time stood still. Shana's brain stopped working as her mouth started to open and close soundlessly. Finally, she managed to regain her wits before the silence became embarrassing.

"Yes."

Now Conrad did the same thing she'd done a moment before. His eyes asked, "Really?"

"Yes, I will marry you, Conrad Hauser. I can't imagine my life without you, either. And quite frankly, I don't care to try."

The silence was shattered as Joes all around them started whooping and cheering. Conrad placed the ring on her finger and a kiss on her lips, which was very happily reciprocated.

The party continued, complete with a gift exchange; Shana didn't pay any attention. After all, she had her gift, and it was the perfect one for the season.

A/N: I may continue it with an epilogue, but I haven't decided yet, so for now, it's complete.

Thank you, any who review or have already done so.


End file.
